This invention relates broadly to the art of boat or ship waste-liquid pumps, and more specifically, to a revolutionary new bilge water and waste oil collection and disposal system which can be established on shore, at dockside or similar mooring facilities, or otherwise separate from and independent of the vessel served.
As used in this application, the word "waste liquid" means bilge water, potable water, wash-down water, water contaminated by petroleum products, and petroleum products themselves such as fuel oils, gasoline, lubricating oils and hydraulic oil. A "vessel" refers to any waterborne vessel, craft, or structure which generates a "waste liquid" as defined above. Examples of vessels include waterborne ships, boats, barges, dredges, submarines, and off-shore structures such as oil rigs and navigational aids. "Waste oil receptacle" as used in the application refers to any container for receiving and storing waste oil, such as one or more 55 gallon drums, 275 gallon standard steel storage tank and all plastic tanks.
Waterborne vessels are often outfitted with on-board bilge pumps. However, the laws of major countries prohibit the discharge of oil in harmful quantities into or upon navigable or open bodies of water. Since bilge water is likely to be contaminated with oil, many of these vessels are also equipped with on-board oily water separators, which reduce the concentration of oil in the bilge water enough to permit legal discharge of the bilge water overboard.
The primary difficulty with such systems is their relatively large size, which generally precludes their installation aboard waterborne vessels less than 100 feet in length. Since these smaller vessels are not equipped with facilities for separating oil from bilge water, they routinely discharge "raw", or untreated, bilge water directly overboard, thereby violating laws and polluting public waters. Thus, the primary objective of this invention is to encourage compliance with existing pollution abatement laws while simultaneously affording all vessels the opportunity of disposing their waste liquid, such as bilge water and waste oil, in a legal and environmentally sound fashion, regardless of their ability to accommodate the added weight and space requirement of on-board oily water separators.
Another difficulty with present on-board oily water separators is their high cost, which generally precludes their installation aboard most all private vessels regardless of size, plus many smaller commercial vessels. Owners of these vessels often reason that the cost of an on-board system is not justifiable because of the relatively small fines that are likely to result in the event of detection, which itself is relatively improbable. Besides, they also reason, present on-board systems do not entirely eliminate all chances of a harmful oil spill. Thus, another objective of this invention is to afford all vessels the opportunity of disposing their bilge water and waste oil in an economical manner.
Another difficulty (alluded to in the above paragraph) with some present versions of on-board oily water separators is their high degree of sophistication and complexity. Malfunctions are commonplace, with consequent increased risk of a harmful discharge. Spare-parts, especially for vessels underway, may be unavailable to correct malfunctions. If operators and maintenance personnel are unable to resolve malfunctions and restore proper operation before bilge levels become critical, then the usual practice is to directly discharge the raw, untreated, environmentally harmful waste water overboard. This usually occurs at night or off shore in order to avoid detection and possible fines. Thus, another objective of this invention is to provide a simpler, more reliable, and easily maintained system for the collection and disposal of bilge water and waste oil than presently exists, which will significantly reduce the frequency of surreptitious and harmful discharges now occurring because of equipment malfunctions.
Another difficulty with some present versions of oil water separators is the requirement for constant manual monitoring of the effluent quality. Unintentional illegal discharges often occur because of operator inattention, sluggish reaction to system malfunctions, or absence of an operator from his post. Thus, another ojective of this invention is to provide a system for the disposal of bilge water and waste oil which operates satisfactorily without a human operator.
Yet another difficulty associated with present bilge pump systems is that liquid transport occurs because of positive (relative to ambient) differential pressures applied at or near the source of the waste liquid. This mode of pumping could, and often does, lead to unintentioanl harmful discharges because of leaks through connections and line fittings. Thus, another objective of this invention is to virtually eliminate the chance of a harmful discharge caused at connections by transporting waste liquids with negative differential pressure applied at or near the source of the waste liquid.